KindlingsFest, the four-day celebration where art and ideas intersect with the spiritual, begins July 14.
As always, the offerings are diverse: participants can enjoy a lecture series, art show, film festival, concerts, and a “BagEnd” Cafe. The events will revolve around this year’s theme of “Friends for the Journey.”
“It’s woven around the richness of friendships and how it enriches our lives,” said Dick Staub, who is pastor of Orcas Community Island Church, a well-known broadcaster, and President of The Kindlings, a movement inspired by C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and Dorothy Sayers (among others), who were known as “The Inklings.” The group met in an Oxford pub each week for lively conversation and friendly disputation. The Kindlings’ aim is to “rekindle the spiritual, intellectual and creative legacy of Christians in culture.”
KindlingsFest runs from July 14-17, and is already booking up. It has become a destination for those wanting to explore their spirituality from an intellectual and artistic perspective. Staub says participants come from across the country and around the world.
All events are open to the public but registration is required. Activities are held at the Community Church, unless otherwise noted. The schedule is as follows:
At 8:30 a.m., Jerry Root will provide meditations on the theme of friendship with music from Jeff Johnson and Grant Myles-Era.
At 10 a.m., visiting writers and musicians will present during the lecture series. Hal Poe will explore the Inklings, poet Luci Shaw will describe her lifelong friendship with the late Madeleine L’Engle, Dr. Jeff Keuss will talk about friendships through the eyes of the younger generation, and Nigel Goodwin will discuss “Friendship and my Spiritual Journey.”
At noon, participants and visiting speakers will join for a buffet lunch; $12 per day.
At 7 p.m., Staub will host a KindlingsMuse live broadcast with the artists in residence. The finale is Saturday evening when folk singer Bob Bennett performs a free, outdoor concert in the Village Green followed by complimentary root beer floats back at the church.
At 8:30 p.m., Goodwin will host the “BagEnd” Cafe at the church’s new fire pit. The cafes are improvisational celebrations of the creativity of the artist at KindlingsFest.
On Friday, a film festival starts at 7 p.m. Award winning short film “Waiting for the Train” and documentary “After the Storm” will be shown. On Saturday, Corrie Moore will screen “The Dark Horse,” which was filmed on Orcas.
There is also children’s programming for kids ages five to 12 whose parents are registered in any of the KindlingsFest activities.
On Thursday, from 2 to 5 p.m., there will be an art walk through Eastsound, and a book-signing at Darvill’s with Shaw and Poe. Visual artist Kathy Hastings’ watercolors, photography, and mixed media work, along with first edition Inklings books and local art, will be on display in the Parish Hall the same day.
Staub says this year’s theme of friendship was a natural direction for the festival.
“The whole Kindlings movement is relational,” he said. “It’s a bunch of friends.”
To register
Information and registration for KindlingsFest is at www.thekindlings.com or call Monique at 376-6422, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
